Improved wooden shoe



iutcdf (Sian-5 i i anni @with Letters Patent No. 90,900, dated June 1,1869.

IMPROVED WOODEN SHOE.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known thatl, WILLIAM A. WEBSTER, ofWestford, in the county of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improved Wooden Shoe; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing, taken in connection with the drawings which accompany andform part of this specification, is a description of my inventionsuiieient to enable those skilled in the art to practise it.

My invention relates to the construction of wooden shoes; that is tosay, of shoes in which both the sole and upper are made of wood, insteadof leather.

'Wooden-soled shoes are common, and wooden shoes,

though not common in America, are worn to a considerable extent in partsof the European continent. Such 'latter shoes are made inflexible, orare, in effect, composed, each, of a single piece of wood, without anycapability of movement of one part relatively to another. For thisreason, they are but little worn. And yet the durability and cheapnessof Wood, as compared to leather,'form a great recommendation for theemployment of wood. And, if a boot or'shoe he really fitted to the formof the foot, or be large enough (and yetnot too large) for the freemovement of the muscles of the foot, it will be found that noconsiderable relative movement of theparts of the foot occurs inwalking, except at the ball of the foot. The foot stands, when theperson is erect, upon the heel and ball. As the forward step is taken,the heel rises, and the foot rocks upon the ball-joint, and stands uponthe ball and toes, so that, if proper provision be made for the movementof the part of the foot from the ball to the heel,` relatively to thepart'thereof included in the ball and toes, no flexibility isneeded inthe other part-s of the shoe, provided the inner surfaces of such otherparts are so made as not to unduly press upon the foot.

Now, the object of my inventionfi-s'to make a wooden Vshoe having thisprovision, or aA shoe,thesole and upper of which, being madeof wood,are'formed in two parts, namely, a toepiece and a heel-aud-slauk piece,which two parts are hinged together at the ball of the foot; and

My invention consists, primarily, in a shoe so made.

The drawings represent a shoe embodying Iny construction.

A shows a longitudinal central section.

B, C, and D, are cross-sections, taken, respectively, on the lines x, y,and z.

a denotes the sole of the shoe 5 b, the heel\,

- c, the quarter;

d, the shank of the sole; and

e, the upper shank.

f, the toe-upper.

The upper and sole ofthe toe are'made in one piece, as seen at A and I),a solid piece ofA wood being hollowed out to a proper shape, forreception of the front end of the foot.

The shank-upper and shank-sole are also formed of one piece of woodhollowed out, as seen at A and C, Y

and the quarter and heel are made i'n one piece with the shank, and ofthe form'shown at A and B.

The toe-piece is connected to the shank-piece by a suitable hinge, g,between the two sole-pieces, this hinge heilig upon either the inner orouter surface of the sole; Aand, when upon theinsde oi' the sole, thejoint on the outside may be covered by a flexible strip, h. Y

rlhe heel-part of the shoe, consisting of the quarter c and heel b, maybe made in one piece, separate from and joined to the shank-part; andthe shank-sole may sometimes be made without the wooden shank-upper, orfox-'attachment of a iiexible upper; but I prefer the constructionshown.

It will be obvious that the heel may-be made of less thickness thanshown, and may be built up with an auxiliary heel-lift or lifts, ofleather, wood, or metal; and the bottom of the heel, and of the sole atthe ball, may be surfaced with leather, to prevent noise in walking.

c' denotes a flexible tip or lacing-piece, fastened, at its edges, tothe shank and toe-piece.

The parts of a shoe thus formed of Wood maybe.

very readily,cheaply, and perfectly manufactured, by suitable machinery,both as regards internal and external shape; and, when made to ft thefoot, and with the hinged toe-piece, I have found .such a shoe tc bevery comfortable, light, and satisfactory to wear, and the wood mayeasily be rendered impermeable to moisture, by lling it with oil or oilycompounds.

1. A shoe formed of a hollow toe-piece made of one piece of wood, andhinged to a shank-piece, of which the sole and upper are'formed of onepiece of wood.

2. Also, a toe-piece, of which the upper and sole are one piece of wood,when made for application to, or to form part of a hinged or jointedshoe, substantially as described.

3. Also, the shank-piece, having its upper and sole one piece of wood,to be hinged to the toe-piece, substanti-ally as shown and described,and ,whether such shank-piece is made integral with the heel or quarter,or as a separate piece fastened thereto.

4. Also, a quarter and yheel made of one piece of wood, (whether formingan integral part of the shank or uot-,) when made for application to, orto form part of a hinged or jointed shoe, substantially as described.

WM. A. WEBSTER.

Witnesses:

FRANCIS GOULD, S. B. KIDDER.

